Zabenthung Dominic

Devotion to the Blessed Mother is necessary for everyone’s salvation and sanctification, but it is especially important for the youth to develop a habit of loving, honouring, and serving her, as well as learning how to imitate her virtues.

In his Treatise True Devotion to Mary, St. Louis Marie Grignion de Montfort declared, “All true children of God have God for their father and Mary for their mother.” Children, more than adults, feel it natural to place their trust in their mother, to entrust themselves to her, and to confide all of their fears, worries, and troubles in her maternal concern. One of the biggest tragedies of our time is the vast number of children who have never heard of the Blessed Mother and who have never had the opportunity to discover that they have a loving Mother in Heaven to whom they can confide in with all of their worries. If children grow up knowing Our Lady, developing the habit of fleeing to her arms for protection, and attempting to emulate her holiness of life, they will have laid a solid foundation on which to construct the remainder of their lives. Our Lady, on the other hand, will take all those children who show a great devotion to her in their youth under her protective mantle, and she will never abandon them. Even if they deviate from their early dedication, she makes it her personal goal to assure their everlasting salvation. “The richness of love in all the mothers of this world could never equal the love Mary has for each one of us,” declared St. John Bosco. Young people who want to keep their faith and innocence as they grow older have no other option than to imbue their minds and hearts with adoration to the Blessed Virgin Mary. They should entrust themselves to Our Lady on a daily basis, asking her to protect and lead them throughout their life and, one day, to bring them to Heaven.

As children grow older and face dangers to their purity and innocence, as well as temptations against chastity, devotion to Our Lady and a firm commitment to practise her virtues become even more important. “Devotion to the Blessed Sacrament and devotion to the Blessed Mother are not only the finest, but in fact the only way to retain purity,” says St. Philip Neri. In today’s world, it is supremely difficult to keep purity and chastity completely intact. Our entire culture seems aimed at making young people forget the beauty and importance of the virtues of purity and chastity, telling them that they should do whatever they. Society employs every possible means to encourage them to not only disregard these virtues, but also disregard the Church’s teachings on life, human sexuality and marriage as well. A lively devotion to the most pure Virgin, as well as a willingness to examine and imitate her exquisite attributes, is the only truly effective means of avoiding the world’s snares. “Do you wish to satisfy your Heavenly Mother?” asks St. John Bosco. Practice chastity, her favourite virtue.” He also emphasises the importance of the mortification of the eyes: “Mortify your eyes now, so that you may view the grandeur of our Blessed Mother and the splendour of Heaven in a more pure way.” “Mary is Immaculate and hates everything that is contradictory to purity,” he stated to his boys, whom he always exhorted to great purity of heart and chastity in their way of life. Mary would never love an unclean lad, and he will never progress.”

In St. John, the beloved disciple, young men have a great example to follow. He was the youngest of the Apostles, and our Lord loved him in a special way for his purity and innocence. He was also the only Apostle who had the guts to stand behind the Blessed Mother at Calvary. How much Our Lady must have loved him too! Young men should develop a tender, filial devotion toward the Mother of God in the same way as the beloved disciple did. They may be like her knights: pure soldiers and missionaries on a mission to spread her love to the farthest reaches of the globe. This is a specific privilege and responsibility bestowed on young men pursuing a vocation to the priesthood; as priests, they will be loved by Our Lady in a special way, and they will have a special responsibility to respect her and preach her glories and virtues.

The youth are the hope of the future and Our Lady is the key to awakening young people’s hearts, minds, and souls to the beauty of the Truth. Let us pray for a revitalised love for Our Lady and a firm commitment to sharing the Gospel of Christ through her maternal mediation and aid among Catholic adolescents around the world. May Our Lady raise up a powerful army of young people to fight bravely for her against the powers of darkness in the struggle for souls, spreading her devotion and love to every corner of the globe!